Jessica Davis reports on a potentially very serious cyberattack that is not the type of thing you’ll usually read on this site: Sonoma Valley Hospital was forced to give up its coveted three-letter domain name in early August after hackers hijacked its website, according to local news outlet Sonoma Index-Tribune. The website had been registered…
Category: Health Data
Feds: PainMD’s abandoned medical records at risk of being burned, shredded
Brett Kelman reports: Federal and state prosecutors have asked a judge to halt the destruction of thousands of medical records abandoned by PainMD, a Nashville-area pain clinic company that shut down earlier this year in the midst of a fraud investigation. The medical records, which could be evidence against PainMD or important to former patients, are currently stuck…
Are thedarkoverlord’s victims entitled to damages from Athens Orthopedic Clinic? Georgia Supreme Court to rule.
Bill Rankin reports: In the spring of 2016, a cyber thief calling himself the “Dark Overlord” hacked into the databases of a Clarke County medical clinic and emerged with the personal information of an estimated 200,000 patients. The Athens Orthopedic Clinic refused to pay the hacker’s ransom and advised current and former patients to set…
Hospice of San Joaquin discloses ransomware attack
The Hospice of San Joaquin recently notified the California Attorney General’s Office that it had suffered a ransomware attack on July 2. The notification, signed by Rebecca Burnett, their CEO, states that: The data accessed may have included personal information such as full name, patient ID number, diagnoses, home address and other sensitive information. Though…
NZ: Medical centre receptionist dismissed after sharing patient history
Susan Edmunds reports: A medical centre receptionist has lost her job after telling a family gathering about a couple’s sexual health tests. The patients complained to the Privacy Commissioner when they discovered the woman had shared sensitive medical information about them. Read more on Stuff.
Arizona State University accidentally reveals email addresses of 4,000 students in HIPAA breach
3TV reports: Arizona State University has notified 4,000 students that their email addresses “were accidentally revealed” in a large data breach. ASU told the students on Aug. 16 it happened in late July when a university office sent bulk emails about renewing health insurance coverage without masking the identities of the recipients. Read more on…